Chapter 26: Lilah
I cannot believe I just did that. Scratch that. I cannot believe we got away with that.
"I've never had sex in public before," I whisper to Ben once the waiter leaves us alone. He gives me a huge, dimpled grin.
"Me either. But I'm game any time you are."
I don't know how all of this will play out, but I'll be fantasizing about the way my hands hit the bathroom wall as I bent over for him when I'm 80. The rush I felt when he walked into the bathroom and locked the door, eying me with a predatory focus. I try to contain the blush rising in my cheeks as I think about it, but it's a losing battle.
With my need for Ben satisfied, at least temporarily, we share a quiet dinner. We pick a trail to hike and a winery to visit on Saturday before family dinner at Gran's. Ben fills me in on his sister's latest assignment in Nova Scotia and her relief at leaving D.C. behind.
Every now and then, I catch him putting his hand in his pocket. The one where he stashed my wet panties. He smirks a little and the thought of him rubbing them and thinking about me makes me wet all over again. Did I say I was satisfied? I lied.
We finish our complimentary dessert and I almost feel guilty about it. It's not like we were waiting miserably for our food. The waiter brings the check and Ben snaps it up before I can even reach for it.
"You should let me pay for it!" I try to take the bill, but Ben holds it out of reach. "You keep paying for everything."
Ben drops his chin, giving me a just-try-it face. "I could never live it down if my mother found out I let you pay for our first date. She'd have her entire church congregation shaming me for years."
I open my mouth to argue, but then I realize this is our first date. How did I miss that?! "I can't believe you tricked me into going on a date without having to actually ask me," I say. Ben grins at me, looking very proud of himself.
"You're sneaky as hell," I mutter. He might be sneaky but I'm not mad at it. "You're lucky this is the single greatest date I've ever been on," I tell him, pursing my lips. Ben reaches over and pulls me into his lap, threading his hands through the hair at the back of my head and kissing me deeply. It's long and slow and I can still taste the chocolate cake we shared. He kisses me like we have all the time in the world.
He smiles against my lips. "Me too."
***
I'm brushing my teeth in Ben's bathroom when I remember I was supposed to ask my brothers about that broken part on my Jeep. I blame Ben. He distracted me with dinner and sex, and now it's gotten way too late to call one of them. Well, Lukas might be up, but I don't want to take the chance of interrupting him if he's "entertaining" a woman. I shudder as I spit the toothpaste out in the sink and rinse. First thing tomorrow, I'll deal with it, I promise myself.
Ben steals in behind me as I straighten up and watches me as I wipe a tiny fleck of toothpaste from the corner of my mouth. He pulls my hair to the side, placing a little kiss at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. His eyes hold mine and there's something so powerful in the way he watches me.
Our rendezvous in the bathroom might have taken the edge off for a while, but judging from the look in Ben's eyes, it certainly hasn't kept him satisfied for long. I watch his face in the mirror as he slides his hands around my waist.
"How do you do that?" I ask quietly.
"Do what?" he asks, nuzzling the shell of my ear with his nose.
"When you look at me like that... you make me feel like you really see me."
Ben smiles against my neck. "That's because I do see you. You're strong and beautiful. You are kind but don't let people walk all over you. You don't hold back or make yourself less just to appease anyone else. I see every inch of you."
I let out the ragged breath I've been holding in. I've never heard someone describe me like that, and holy shit, is it a turn on.
His big warm palms move over the fabric of my dress and spread over my belly, pulling me back into his firm body. He kisses my neck again and growls in approval when I rub my ass against him.
The adorable, smiling Ben that everyone else sees is giving way to the dirty-talking, possessive man that only I get to see and I fucking love it. No one would look at him and know how dark his eyes get when he tosses his glasses on the counter and reaches down the front of my dress to cup my breast. He bites my neck gently and teases the peak of my nipple. Every movement is slow and powerful, a complete turnaround from the frantic sex at the restaurant. He's controlling the pace and I'm perfectly happy to follow his lead.
His hand slips under my dress, petting my thigh and bare hip. I think about my panties, still in his pocket, and moan quietly.
"What do you want, Lilah?" he rasps.
I pause, unsure how to word this but after a beat I just spit it out. "I like it when you're in charge." I've already given him way more control sexually than I ever would have with someone else, and the more I let him take control, the more I like it. "I liked it when you told me what to do."
He nips my neck and watches me as one side of his mouth pulls up in the crooked smile I love so much. "Take your dress off." His voice is gravelly and sends a thrill running through me. I lick my lips, holding his gaze as I unzip the side zipper and lift my dress over my head.
Ben's eyes are dark with desire, "God, you are so beautiful," he murmurs next to my ear. He unhooks my bra, slowly sliding the straps down my arms and letting it fall to the floor in front of us. I'm spellbound watching our reflections. His eyes devour me as he slides a hand up to cup my breast, pinching my nipple and the sight of his masculine hands on my body is so erotic that my core clenches with need.
He winds his fingers in my hair and pulls my head back to look straight into his eyes. I'm wet beyond all reason. I can feel the heat of my arousal as it drips down my thighs and I am painfully aware of how empty my pussy is. I try to shift my weight, squeezing my thighs together to ease the ache, but it just makes my ass rub against the enormous erection straining the zipper of Ben's pants.